Three hours of lectures, readings, and discussion per week on major authors, themes, and movements in Italian literature.

In this course we will examine a variety of texts by writers who took the radical choice of crossing linguistic and cultural constraints and moving across languages within the Italian context, a practice which in some cases reveals an embracing of Italian language and Italianness and, in others, a renunciation. A wide range of texts are included, including literary works (e.g., Amara Lakhous, Jhumpa Lahiri, Ubah Cristina Ali Farah, Helga Schneider, Carmine Abate), movies (e.g., The Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio, Bicycle Thieves), songs (e.g., hip hop by Afroitaliani), and the Italian language textbooks used in Italy’s former colony Somalia. How do we define all of these varieties of writers and their texts? Stephen G. Kellman, in his book Switching Languages defines them translingual and “prodigies of the world literature” for their ability to transcend cultural boundaries and express themselves in verbal systems other than their own. By definition, trans-lingual writers–as borne out by the prefix trans–move in and out of languages by writing their work in more than one language, or in a language other than their ‘native’ tongue. During the semester, we will address the following questions, but not limited to them: why do translingual writers decide to embark on such a difficult task of writing in a language different from their ‘native’ one? What effect does switching languages have on their identity? What is the result for us readers? Also, what role do they play in shifting and reshaping a country's national identity? By proposing readings which show Italy to be a multilingual and multicultural space in constant transformation, we will challenge the stereotypical notions of Italian identity as one only characterized by monolingualism, whiteness, and Christianity. Through the lens of Italian translingualism, we will challenge the notion that Italian identity is restricted to the national site of “Italy” and reimagine Italy as a transnational space that extends beyond its geopolitical borders. In doing so, we will also look at some 'traditional' pieces of Italian literature, in order to re-discover Italy as a geographical space that has always been a hub for cultural and linguistic encounters and mixing, not only recently (e.i., except from the works of Dante, the ‘father’ of Italian language). Ultimately, the analysis of Italian translingualism will enable students to reflect on other cases of translingualism throughout the world, including the United States and countries related to the diverse family backgrounds of our class members.

Taught in English.

Upper-division Italian Studies classes with instruction in English may be taken in Italian (by completing readings and written work in Italian) if the student has completed Italian 101, and with permission of the instructor.

Repeat Rules

Requirements class fulfills